A successful salesperson knows all the qualities of the product and can quickly pick out the ones to highlight in any situation. Do you have a list of all of the skills you have ever used and can you give examples of activities that demonstrate those skills? Are you sure that your CV has an accurate description of all your relevant skills? Skills can generally be divided into two distinct types:

Transferable Skills
These are Workplace Skills - skills that can be used in many workplaces - e.g., computer literacy, accounting, communications.

Non-transferable Skills
These are Job-Specific Skills - skills that cannot be applied to a wide variety of jobs - e.g., fabric cutting, kiln operator, cartoonist, cappuccino machine operator, welding.

Start with this checklist to find out which of your skills are transferable to new jobs. Think of any work situations - for pay or volunteer - and think of any skills you may have used in recreational activities. Look at the following list of general transferable skills areas and note down examples of skills you have to offer an employer according to these areas.

Transferable Skills Checklist
  Clerical Skills
  Financial Skills
  Physical Skills
  Teaching Skills
  Creative Skills
  Service Skills
  Helping Skills
  Research Skills
  Communication Skills
  Management Skills
  Technical Skills

Categories where you noted down a lot of skills are areas of strength that you can highlight in a CV, a covering letter or an interview. Be ready to give an example that shows your ability. If you are planning to change your type of work, you would make these types of skills very visible in your CV.

Skills vs Interests
Do you know people who find their work stressful because it involves serving the public day after day? Some people are unhappy in the work that they do because their real interests lie in another area. Some people thrive in a job that involves dealing with the public; others prefer working mostly with things or with information. Working in an area that matches your interests is essential to job satisfaction.

Skills and Interest Inventory Checklist
The following inventory includes three fairly long lists of different activities involving information, people and things. For your convenience print out the inventory. Then for each item mark it with either an:

“ I ” for “I am Interested in this activity” (whether or not you have done it before)

or

“ S ” for “I have this as a skill,” (whether you are interested in it or not).

At the end you will see where you have the most interests and whether you have any skills in a particular area of interest. If most of your skills are not in the same area as your interests, you may want to research some occupational fields in your area of interest.

Skills and Interest Inventory - Information
  Observing what other people do.
  Gathering and organising information.
  Reporting on information.
  Copying or writing out information.
  Proof-reading and editing written material.
  Keeping accurate records.
  Filing and organising information.
  Reading blueprints, graphs.
  Using a computer to store and retrieve information.
  Working with numbers.
  Estimating costs and budgeting.
  Picking out important information.
  Performing detailed tasks with information.
  Planning the order things need to be done in to achieve a goal.
  Listening attentively.
  Organising activities and events.
  Writing reports and letters.
  Writing creatively.
  Organising and leading jobs or projects.
  Thinking of ways to use ideas for practical purposes.
  Keeping track of information and results.
  Finding new uses for things.
  Developing computer programs and software.
  Following instructions.
  Thinking one step at a time.
  Putting information and ideas together in new ways.
  Dealing creatively with space, objects and colour.
  Finding creative ways to accomplish tasks.
  Evaluating information.

Skills and Interest Inventory - People
  Listening to people.
  Helping others in need.
  Dealing patiently with difficult people.
  Being sensitive and responsive to the feelings of others.
  Helping people feel accepted.
  Speaking different languages.
  Telling stories.
  Explaining ideas and instructions clearly.
  Interviewing, gathering information from people.
  Writing to or about people.
  Asking difficult questions.
  Getting to know strangers easily.
  Selling services or products effectively.
  Influencing the ideas and attitudes of others.
  Knowing which people will do which tasks best.
  Singing, playing an instrument or speaking for an audience or camera.
  Making people laugh.
  Working with others to complete a task.
  Working with others to solve a problem.
  Managing or supervising the work of others.
  Directing people through a process by giving them instructions.
  Evaluating the work of others.
  Settling differences between people.
  Taking a leadership role when necessary.
  Teaching or training others.
  Making recommendations.
  Helping others to make changes for themselves.
  Representing or standing up for someone else.
  Tending to people's spiritual needs or growth.
  Interacting with people from other cultures.

Skills and Interest Inventory - Things
  Making crafts, doing fine handiwork, sewing, knitting, or weaving.
  Typing, keyboarding on a computer.
  Building objects, building structures.
  Carving, chiselling or shaping stone, wood, plastic or clay.
  Putting together parts, technical apparatus or equipment.
  Preparing and cooking food.
  Giving massage to relieve pain.
  Raising and training animals (e.g., dogs).
  Using home appliances.
  Operating computers, calculators and other office machines.
  Playing musical instruments.
  Playing sports, being athletic.
  Driving motor vehicles and equipment.
  Doing repetitive tasks to get a job done.
  Arranging materials or objects for display (e.g., in a shop).
  Cleaning and maintaining rooms or buildings.
  Operating cash tills.
  Using hand tools.
  Sketching, drawing or painting.
  Repairing equipment, appliances, tools and machinery.
  Operating large machinery such as a road grader.
  Measuring size, dimensions, volume or weight of materials.
  Doing physically demanding work.
  Working quickly and accurately.
  Painting (interior and exterior).
  Using camera and audio visual equipment.
  Using fingers for detailed work.
  Photographing objects or people.
  Sanding and painting furniture.
  Organising a home or office.